Muskegon sheriff to retire

MUSKEGON -- It's been more than two decades since the voters of Muskegon County have picked a brand new sheriff.

And it may be a while before it happens again.

That's because Muskegon County Sheriff George Jurkas, less than a year away from completing his four-year term, has filed the necessary insurance papers to retire from office March 31, according to several sources. His term expires Dec. 31.

Dean Roesler

That could easily lead to the appointment of Undersheriff Dean Roesler as the new sheriff for the nine remaining months of Jurkas' term, and allow Roesler to run in the Nov. 4 election as the incumbent.

If that happens, an old county political tradition will be kept alive.

Since 1982, every county sheriff has left office before the end of his term, passing the job to a hand-picked successor. That gives the successors the advantage of running in the next election as the sitting sheriff, and they've cruised to victory each time.

Local observers say having a constant incumbent on the ballot discourages outsiders from seeking the office. They also say the incumbency is a huge advantage because the sheriff's department has more than 100 employees, many of whom are willing to campaign for their boss on their free time.

"You have that large organization to your advantage," said Muskegon County Commissioner Bob Scolnik, who is also chairman of the Muskegon County Republican Party. "You have a group of workers with a vested interest in seeing you elected."

George Jurkas

Jurkas is on vacation this week and could not be reached for comment.

Several county staff members confirmed Thursday that Jurkas has already filed the necessary insurance papers to retire March 31.

Roesler, contacted Thursday, said he learned last week that Jurkas was planning to retire at the end of March, just nine months prior to the end of his four-year term.

According to state law, a three-person committee comprised of the county clerk, county prosecutor and chief probate judge will have to choose a successor to complete the balance of Jurkas' term.

The committee has not formally been told of Jurkas' plans, according to County Clerk Karen Buie. When that occurs, a meeting will be scheduled and several options will be considered, Buie said.

The committee will have the legal option of opening the position to applicants, or making an appointment on its own, Buie said.

Roesler, who said he already was planning to run for sheriff in the November election, said he will apply for the vacancy.

Roesler said he isn't sure why Jurkas is retiring so close to the end of his term. He said he was comfortable with Jurkas finishing his term and allowing him to seek the office without the benefit of incumbency.

"I can't speak for George, but I know he thought long and hard about it and decided that this is the right time," Roesler said.

Roesler said he's not aware of any other possible candidates who might want to serve the balance of Jurkas' term. If others applied and someone else was chosen by the committee, Roesler said he would still run in the fall election.

"Hopefully I will prevail," he said.

The tradition of the old sheriff handing the baton to the new sheriff goes back about 25 years.

There was obviously no political strategy involved in 1982, when Sheriff Marion Calkins died in a traffic accident and Undersheriff Harry Pennington took over. In 1990 Pennington resigned before the end of his second term, allowing Undersheriff Bob Carter to take over.

In 2003, Carter retired before the end of his third term and endorsed Jurkas, his jail administrator. The appointment committee chose Jurkas over three other applicants.

The last four sheriffs and their replacements have been Democrats.

Scolnik, the county GOP chair, said the retirement tradition is frustrating from his perspective, because it's easier to recruit candidates for offices where there is no incumbent.

After so many years, Scolnik said county voters clearly deserve to chance to pick a new sheriff themselves, with no incumbent on the ballot.

But he refused to condemn the Democrats for keeping the tradition alive.

"They are just playing the political game the way it's played," Scolnik said. "In a way I wish we had a shot at some of these seats. On the other hand, if things were the other way around, we'd probably do the same thing."